Machine Intelligence Research Institute

Berkeley, California

established24 peopleFounded 2000

Endorsed by:

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The Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, founded in 2000 by Eliezer Yudkowsky. MIRI's technical and philosophical work helped found the field of AI alignment, and its researchers originated many of the theories and concepts central to today's discussions of AI safety. Following a major strategic pivot in 2024, MIRI shifted from prioritizing technical alignment research to focusing on policy and communications, arguing that alignment research alone is unlikely to succeed in time. MIRI now pursues three objectives: securing international agreements to halt progress toward artificial superintelligence, sharing its risk models with policymakers and the public, and continuing reduced-scale technical governance research.

Funding Details

Annual Budget: $7,100,000
Monthly Burn Rate: $591,667
Current Runway: -
Funding Goal: $6,000,000
Funding Raised to Date: $48,000,000
Fiscal Sponsor: -

Theory of Change

MIRI believes that the default outcome of building artificial superintelligence is human extinction, and that technical alignment research alone is unlikely to succeed in time to prevent this. Their current theory of change centers on policy intervention: by communicating the extreme risks of ASI to policymakers, the public, and AI developers, MIRI aims to build support for a globally coordinated and collectively enforced moratorium on the development of ASI. In parallel, their technical governance research explores verification mechanisms for international agreements, limitations of current AI evaluation methods, and frameworks for AI governance that could reduce catastrophic risk. In the long term, MIRI hopes to see AI-empowered projects used to avert major AI mishaps while humanity develops the scientific and institutional maturity needed to make lasting decisions about the far future.